Scars of the Past
by DocFaustus
Summary: Tony makes a mistake during a mission that costs people their lives. when he tries to defend himself, Natasha snaps and does something drastic. she locks Tony in a closet, and leaves him. when she remembers, the team get a shock and realize what Afghanistan really did to him...
1. Beginning

I wrote this story in response to Oceanbreeze7's "Pushing the Boundaries". i added my own twists to it, so to respect them, and if its still too close, just PM me. I also found out that my brother was getting deployed to Afghanistan in October. DISCLAIMER! i own nothing, cause if i did, Coulson would still be alive, and Fury would be a big fat fatty fat lying liar who lies.

oOo

Tony hit the ground, hearing metal and asphalt crunch under his suit, and the momentum made him slide across the ground. He fetched up against a car and it banged painfully against his head. He knew it would probably need some fixing up later on, as the icons on his HUD were fuzzy, and Jarvis's voice was muted.. As he slowly pushed himself up from his position on the ground, he checked over his suit. They were fighting near a shabby warehouse where a dangerous bomb was stored. One repulsor was out, and his paint job was ruined. He sighed, resigned to another few hours of work before he dusted himself off and took to the air.

"This is Tony, does anyone copy?" he asked into his comm link. No answer. "Hello? I still don't know when I'm supposed to take the shot." Before he had gotten shot out of the sky, Steve had told him to wait for his word to fire the special missile Tony had designed. Some crazy guy who thought he could rule the world had created a bomb out of simple household chemicals, but it was still dangerous and it had an extremely wide detonation range. The man also seemed to have a large army of robots at his disposal.

He saw Steve roll out from behind a car and turn to him. Natasha and Clint were also behind the car, taking out the horde of 'bots. As one appeared behind Steve, an arrow promptly sprouted from its forehead. Steve waved his shield up at Tony, mouthing something that looked like, "Shoot the missile!" Tony looked back to the ruined warehouse where the bomb was stored and then down to the console on his forearm that would control his EMP and electrical missile. The EMP served to shut down any remote controlled device within 50 miles, and the electrical pulses would fry any and all circuits.

"You'll shoot when I tell you!" Steve's voice finally filtered into Tony's left ear. Sighing with relief, he said, "Then give the word, Capsicle." Tony hovered about thirty feet off the ground, shooting robots with his one working repulsor. When Jarvis informed him that his suit battery was down to one hundred and thirty percent, and they needed to conserve energy in order to remain hovering, he stopped shooting. Instead, he began to think about tomorrow. Tomorrow would be the anniversary of his escape from Afghanistan. And Yinsen's death. the man had saved his damn life, and he never got to thank him. just thinking about it made him want to grit his teeth and scream in frustration. He heard a crackle in his ear, and knew he had just caught the tail-end of a conversation. the very last word he got was "Missile".

"Okay okay! i'll shoot the damn thing. don't get your star-spangled panties in a bunch." He muttered under his breath. Lifting his left arm, he tapped on the control console that would launch the rocket. And the second he finger tapped the 'launch' button, he heard, "No, Stark, no!"

And as soon as the words were spoken, a plate on his shoulder popped up, and the surprisingly small projectile launched itself into the air.

"Jarvis, track the missile!" Tony shouted, and a small white wavering line appeared on his HUD. the tracking line lead right into the shabby rotten wall of the warehouse. He turned back to look at Steve and saw him shouting and screaming, jumping up and down and waving his be-spangled shield. He slowly descended and when he landed, took off his helmet. Steve strode over to him, legs stiff, and when he reached Tony, punched him hard in the face.

"What the hell was that for?" Tony shouted angrily, rubbing his bruised cheek and equally bruised pride.

"Because I gave the order not to, but you shot the missile anyway!"

Tony looked at him quizzically. "You never told me to not shoot the missile! Not that I heard anyway," he defended himself. "Besides, why wouldn't you want me to shoot the missile?"

Steve fumed. "Maybe if you would actually listen to authority once in a while, you would start following orders properly!"

"Hey," Tony shot back, "The only reason you think you're the leader is because you have the word Captain tin front of your name! and they only gave it to you when you broke orders and went into enemy territory!" Steve growled and punched him in the face again. Tony's eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed onto the ground. Clint looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"You knocked the bastard out, you can carry him onto the quinjet." He said sardonically. Steve narrowed his eyes the crouched down and hoisted Tony over his shoulder. The rest of the robots had been taken out. As they began their way back towards the jet, the ground suddenly shuddered violently. The looked behind to the west and a huge brown mushroom cloud of dust and debris filled the air. They had just received a message from Fury that said the warehouse bomb was a fake, and if Tony deployed the missile, the real one would detonate.

Natasha growled and narrowed her eyes. "So many lives lost. I kill for a living, but there are children out there dying. They never got to live a life. And its Tony's fault."


	2. Finding out

Tony lay on his back, hands laced behind his head. His eye and nose still hurt from where Steve punched him, but at the moment, he was thinking of more important things. Tomorrow was the anniversary of Yinsen's death. The term 'tomorrow' was being used loosely; it was 4:48 in the morning. He knew he should get some sleep, because he had to get up at six, but he knew the nightmares would torment him, as they did every time this year. He twisted his head to the left to look at Pepper. He was so grateful he had her. He couldn't function without her, and if he lost her, he knew it would literally kill him.

He looked back up to the ceiling and relived that horrible day for the third time that night.

"_I'm going to buy you some time!" Yinsen said picking up a gun from the ground, and running out of their little cave, spraying bullets above his head. Tony cursed and shouted, "No! Stick to the plan! The plan Yinsen!" but it was no use, and he was already gone. Tony looked back at the loading bar on the laptop desperately, wishing he could do something._

_oOo_

_Tony lifted his arm and fired a missle. I exploded over the Terrorist's head, showering him with debris and knocking him out. He then rushed to Yinsen's side. Blood soaked the burlap bag that he was laying on. _

"_Come on you're gonna be ok. You're gonna go see your family now," Tony said, trying and failing to keep the desperation out of his voice. _

"_No Stark. My family is dead. I'm going to see them now. This was always the plan. " He replied. Lifting a hand, he poked Tony in his Arc reactor. "Don't waste your life. Don't waste it. Don't-"his voice stopped abruptly as the life left his body. Tony bowed his head, vowing silently to avenge him. _

_oOo_

The first year after his kidnapping and Yinsens death, he had gone looking for a peaceful little glen or meadow. He had thought that that man deserved better than being left in a cave, so when he found the perfect place he thought Yinsen would want to be buried, he bought the piece of property and built him a memorial. The small glade was well sheltered and hard to find. The ground was carpeted in soft green grass, and a high rock wall of granite rose on the left side. The north, east and south sides were thick walls of trees and brush.

It had taken him ages to find this little sanctuary located in Ireland. And it had taken him longer to build the memorial. It was an eight foot tall piece of marble. It wasn't polished or finished, except for the base where Tony had carved in his name, death date and death place, along with all his attributes. At the very bottom, a new addition to the text on the marble read, "A man worth more than me."

Sighing, he looked at his bedside clock. It read 6:15. He swung his legs over the side of his bed and went to get dressed. He didn't choose anything fancy, just a black Sabbath t-shirt and jeans and a leather jacket. Pulling out his phone he called Happy and told him to bring his jet over. With one last glance at the still sleeping Pepper, he walked out of his room and out to the helipad on top of the tower. Soon, his hair began to whip around as the jet landed, and Happy stepped out.

"Is it that time of year again, sir?" Happy asked as Tony climbed aboard. His boss only offered a curt

nod, and sat in the seat farthest back.

oOo

Tony rarely cried. He didn't cry when his parents died, or when Obie betrayed him; nor when he had broken his arm in three places on an unfortunate mission. In fact he had joked about it, saying, "A broken arm is better than no arm at all." But he did cry for Yinsen. This man gave his life for him, and Tony never even got to say thank you. Another tear slipped its way down his cheek before he dashed it away.

"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry you died. I'm sorry I didn't get to thank you. And I'm sorry I wasted my life. If you know what Steve said, then you know that you had nothing that I do, but you were worth more than just ten of me." He paused, and stared at his feet. "I'm gonna stop wasting my life now." Turning around, he pulled out his black shades and put them on. When he climbed back onto the jet and told Happy to go back home, he knew that Happy knew that he had cried.

oOo

"Where have you been?" was his greeting when he got home. Tony frowned at Steve, who had asked the question.

"Out visiting a friend." His voice contained none of the usual sharpness, but he quickly slipped it back in. "why, was I out past my curfew? Are mad that I didn't tell you I was leaving?" Steve, Natasha and Bruce were sitting in the kitchen, all staring at him, anger in their gazes.

"I thought Fury told you not to leave the premises until further notice, you know, after you set that bomb off," Natasha said, standing up to put her coffee mug in the sink.

"Oh, so now I can't leave my own house? Besides the bomb thing wasn't even my fault! My…" his voice choked off suddenly as Natasha grabbed him by the collar and dragged him out of the commons area. She voice was dangerously low as she cursed in some other language, probably Russian.

"W-what are you doing Natasha?" Tony stuttered as she dragged him down the hall. She threw open any door she came across. Finally choosing a small broom closet that Tony had never paid any mind to, she threw him into it. Slamming the door closed, she stalked back to the kitchen, grabbed a chair and when she got back to the closet, wedged the handle under the doorknob. She head a faint voice say, "Natasha? Let me out, please!" "No! You and your horrid personality, an inability to follow orders have just-!" she slipped into another language, one she had probably learned for a mission. Tony stiffened as he recognized it. It was Hungarian. He shrunk back into a corner and curled into a defensive ball.

"_He's speaking Hungarian! I don't speak Hungarian." _ The sudden flashback whipped into his mind. He started breathing harder. He couldn't handle foreign languages, except French, because he spoke it. Whimpering, he covered his ears and started remembering. Most of his experiences from his three months of captivity had been locked away in his mind. But those locks had been picked. And now the flood of memories could not be turned off. Tony could no longer hear Natasha, so he took his chance. He banged on the door with his hands and scratched at it until his fingernails hurt. He kicked at the door until his foot hurt so bad he could not even move it. He cried as he relived Yinsen's death in the utmost detail, and then his entire captivity again. And most of all he screamed. He screamed until blood coursed down his throat. He screamed at the memories that assaulted him, and he cried because he was reliving his greatest nightmare.

OoO

**Wow you guys are lucky. Two chapters in one day. I'm super fragging tired. All the angst and depression. Don't worry though. It's got a happyish ending. And I'm putting the disclaimer at the bottom. I own nothing. **


	3. Pepper's Revenge

**Hello all! I think I might finish this story soon. It was never going to be long anyway. But anyway, disclaimer! I own nothing. Really, I don't. **

OoO

In the morning, when everyone had converged in the living room and were eating breakfast, they all felt that something was missing. Bruce felt it worst of all. It felt odd working on algorithms by himself. Clint, who usually was second to last waking up, yawned and stretched in his bed. Smacking his lips, he swished his arms through the thick pile of blankets and pillows that was his bed. Groaning and hissing, he stretched his cramped muscles. Rolling to the left, he swung his legs over the side and put his feet on the floor. He wiggled his toes, hearing them crack and pop, then stood up and twisted to the right. A series of dull pops sounded from his back and he grinned lazily.

Shuffling sleepily to the door, he swung it open and started walking towards the common room. On his way, he saw a chair wedged underneath a doorknob. For a brief moment, he was curious about why the chair was there. Then he shrugged it off_. I've seen weirder. Budapest._ He thought. When he got to the kitchen, he saw the team eating breakfast. Tony was missing, but that wasn't unusual, since he got up last. Grabbing a bowl from the cupboard, he looked around for an available seat, but there was none. This thought brought him back to the chair.

"Hey Nat," he asked, "Why is there a chair in the hallway?" Natasha paused, her spoon halfway to her mouth. For a moment, confusion swam in her green eyes, and then pure panic and anger replaced it. She dropped her spoon and it landed with a splash in her bowl. She shoved her seat back so hard it clattered to the floor and startled Thor, who was in the living room quietly watching T.V. Sprinting from the kitchen, she dashed down the hall whispering, "Oh hell, oh hell, oh hell!" skidding to a stop, she knelt in front of the closet and ripped the chair away. Unaware that the rest of the team had followed, she gently eased open the door. Tony was huddled in a corner, curled into a tiny little ball.

"Tony," Natasha crooned hoping that it would keep him from sinking down further into himself. She had known he was claustrophobic; she had read his Afghanistan file, seen the video. His dull, glassy looking eyes met hers. He hunched his shoulders higher, and looked away. Blood streaked his hands and clothes, and flecked his lips. It covered the inside of the door. His eyes were bloodshot, and his hair was tangled and matted with blood. Slowly, painfully, he clenched his right fist. Then the leaned forward and rocked onto his knees. And then he leaned against the wall, slowly pushing harder against is as he tried to get the leverage to stand. Reaching forward, Natasha tried to steady him, but he froze and turned an ice-hard stare at her.

"Don't you fucking dare. Not after what you did. Don't you even touch me." His voice was raw and raspy; it sounded ruined. He brought his hand up to his mouth and coughed. When he brought it away, it was flecked with fresh crimson spots. It took him three full minutes to finally stand, and even then he was leaning heavily against the wall. Carefully, he inched his way to the door and out of the closet, ignoring the shocked and horrified looks the rest of the team sent his way.

"Call Pepper. Tell her I'll be at the SHEILD infirmary." And with that, he slumped against the wall and his eyes rolled into his head and he passed out.

oOo

Pepper strode down the hall, heels clicking on the floor. It had been a normal workday, nothing completely out of the ordinary. She had woken up at six, got dressed in her most classy power suit, (huge board meeting today) and gone to work, signing contracts and talking to influential business men from other countries. It was, until she got a call from Fury telling her to get to the SHEILD base as soon as possible. And now, with worry mixing with anger, she pushed past the thin agent who tried to stop her from entering the infirmary wing, and walked right up to Natasha. She and the rest of the team were standing in front of a dull grey door with the word, "Medical Wing."

"What happened to Tony?" she demanded, was alarmed to see the mix of negative emotions that swirled in Natasha's eyes. "I, uh, he um," she was having difficulty forming a complete sentence. Pepper recognized guilt, shame and anger in the few words she managed to squeeze out. Then, taking a deep breath, Natasha steeled herself and said, "I got angry at Tony. So I locked him in a broom closet. I overreacted and I'm sorry." The apology was sincere, but it didn't stop the anger from boiling up inside Pepper. Her hand clenched and faster than Natasha could react to, Pepper's hand came up and smacked her across the face. Natasha's head whipped to the left and she tasted blood.

She stepped away from Pepper; hand over the red handprint mark slowly appearing on her cheek. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Not many people could say they hit the Black Widow and lived to see the next day.

"You had absolutely _no right_ to do that! Don't you know what yesterday was? What today is?" Pepper fumed, and Natasha nodded. I remember now. But I wasn't thinking then, and I truly am sorry." Pepper seemed to calm down slightly, but she was still angered beyond belief. The two women composed themselves.

"Where is Tony? He is my boyfriend, and I'd like to know where he is."

"Through that door, three doors down to the left." Natasha replied, and Pepper left with a huff, strawberry blonde hair streaming out behind her as she walked. Natasha felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked to find Clint at her side. "What is today?" he asked softly. Natasha looked at him, anguish apparent in her gaze.

"Six years ago today, Tony made the first Ironman suit and escaped Afghanistan and the Ten Rings."

oOo

When Pepper eventually found Tony, he was lying on his side, facing away from the door. Knocking gently, she slowly opened the door. Tony turned his head, relief flooded his gaze and he sat up to greet her. She walked quickly to his side and hugged him tightly. "I was so worried about you, when Fury called I thought you had killed yourself!" Tony stroked her hair, feeling awkward. When Pepper pulled away, she ran a critical eye over him. His left middle finger was wrapped in gauze and his ring and pinky fingers were taped together. He had a cast on his right foot and there was blood on his face. "What happened to you?" she breathed, and he cast his eyes down. "Broke my foot kicking the door, broke two fingers on my left hand punching the door, and ripped a fingernail out from the bed." Her eyebrows crinkled then embraced him tightly again. They stayed like that for the better part of an hour when Tony felt Pepper mutter something against his shirt. Pulling away, he asked, "What?"

"I slapped Natasha." She said sheepishly, and her boyfriend looked at her in shock. "You slapped the Black Widow?" he asked incredulously and she nodded. He smiled and said, "That's my girl." Then his good mood dissipated as quickly as it came and he looked at her seriously. "I want you to get the team." He said, and Pepper blinked.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I've been thinking about it, and I need to see them." He had the same tone of voice he had when he had told her to get the files off of Obie's computer; he would not be swayed. Pepper sighed, and slid her hands down his arms. She nodded reluctantly.

"I'll go get them."

oOo

**I'm sorry. Cliffhanger. But if I said my back felt like someone stabbed my with a hot poker 37 times, I would not be exaggerating. My back hurts so badly! But, enough of my whining. I need your guys opinion. Should I do a Loki/team bonding thing, because I'm not sure. I really wanna do a loki centric fic, but I have another idea I want to publish first. K, R and R guys. Bye! **


	4. Reconciliation

**Hey everybody! First off, I would like to thank all my awesome reviewers, and second, I apologize for the god-awful chapter name last time. I'm not good at naming things. I'm so glad all of you loved the Pepper bitch slap! I hope you all keep reviewing you awesome people!**

**oOo**

The door to the medical wing creaked open, and five heads swiveled to the source of the noise. Pepper's head poked out of the crack to look at the rest of the Avengers. Clint was sitting on the ground, leaning against the wall. Thor and Steve were sitting on the only two chairs available; both looking concerned and bored, if that was possible. Bruce was sitting on the floor with his legs crisscrossed, tapping on his phone. And Natasha was lying across Clint's lap, an icepack pressed to her cheek. Not a word was spoken as they looked at her.

With a sigh, Pepper broke the tense silence. "He's awake. He told me to come get you." That was all explanation she gave as she opened the door wider, as if inviting them in. The team scrambled to get up and follow her. She led them down the hall, heels clacking on the hard floor. When she got his door she turned to the team, her jaw was set and her eyes were hard. "Try not to hurt him anymore than you already have." Those last words were directed at Natasha. And then with a flick of hair, she turned and left.

Hesitantly, Thor reached forward and grasped the doorknob. Turning it, he poked his head through into the room. He saw Tony reclining on his bed, pillows under one foot, and a tablet being held up in front of his face. Hearing the door creak made his head poke out from behind the tablet. His trademark boardroom grin slid into place, and the sickly utter fakeness of it made Thor want to grind his teeth.

"Ah, Point Break, good to see you! I trust the rest of the Merry Men have come along with you?"

Thor nodded and opened the door wider, stepping to the side. Everyone else filed in, somber expressions on their faces. They all stood with their backs straight and feet together, as if they were in a lineup. Grinning lazily at them, Tony gestured around the room.

"Geez, guys! Why so stiff? You look like you have yardsticks taped to your backs." He said. That seemed to rip them out of their out of the grim stupor in the room. Stepping forward, Steve said, "Do you mind telling us what happened?"

"Sure Capsicle! Nat here locked me in a tiny little room and I panicked. End of story." With his plaid shirt, khaki pants and loafers, Steve really did look like a ninety year old with the body of guy in his prime.

"That answer isn't good enough. Knowing you, you would have just gotten angry, not broken your hand trying to punch your way out."

"Well," Tony sniffed, "That's the answer you are gonna get. Just move on."

"You didn't freak out when Dr. Doom locked us into a tiny cell and no one had enough room to wiggle a toe! Maybe if you told us about why this happened, we might have an idea for about half the things you did."

Tony bristled and said, "So now it's my fault? Tell me Steve, has anyone else on the team shared their past? No, they haven't, so why should I be the guinea pig to your experiment?"

With that final statement, Tony turned looked away and crossed his arms. For an hour and a half, they stood in the same positions. Eventually everyone took a seat on the floor. Clint sat with his legs drawn up high, arms resting on his knees. He had been sitting that way for an hour, and showed no sign of moving from his position when he spoke.

"When I was four, my mom died in a car crash. My dad got so depressed that he blamed it on me and my brother, Barney. He beat us every day. Then one night, Barney got me up really late and we ran away. We found a circus that was willing to take us in, as long as we did an act. My mentors name was Trickshot. That's how I became an archer."

Natasha was shocked. He had only told her the short version of that story, and it wasn't even very long to begin with. But as much as she despised the idea, she knew she had to tell her story too. _For the greater good _she thought.

"When I was eight years old, my house caught on fire. My parents died, but I was spared. After wandering the streets, some men found me and said they would take care of me. I believed them. Instead, they sold me to the Red Room. I was eight years old when I first killed. If we made friends with anyone, they would force us to fight each other to the death. I managed to keep a few fiends secret for a while, but they eventually found out. I had to kill my best friend." With the end of her morbid tale, Natasha took a deep breath and leaned her head against Clint's shoulder.

Now it was Steve's turn, and he took the initiative. "When I was a kid living in Brooklyn, you probably know I got beat up a lot. I was such a shrimp, and sickly too. When I was thirteen, my mother got really sick. My dad had already been killed in the war, and if I lost my mom, I would have nothing. I obviously didn't get my way, and she died. I was put into the system, and my only friend was Bucky, and I think he only pitied me for the first few years. Then I got the opportunity of a lifetime, and I got to be Captain America, and then Bucky died, and I had to crash the plane and I lost Pegg- " he stopped and swallowed thickly. "Lost everything."

When Bruce started to talk, Tony held up a hand. "Don't say a word Brucey. You must be forgetting, I already _know _all of this. I hacked SHEILD and red your files. But," he paused then continued. "I suppose I'll tell my story now." He cleared his throat and then began.

"As most of you know, I was kidnapped in Afghanistan. When my guard vehicle blew up, I made a stupid mistake. I got out of the van and was hiding behind a rock. When I heard something land in the sand next to me when a saw a missile that literally had my name on it." He chuckled dryly. "When it exploded, shrapnel imbedded its self in my chest, and the pain made me pass out. When I woke up, I tried to move, but it felt like someone was holding onto my chest. When I looked down, this massive hunk of metal attached to a car battery was stuck in my chest.

"My entire captivity was spent with the man who had saved my life. The terrorists who had captured us were demanding that I build them a Jericho missile, and I refused, they water boarded me. So to escape, I built the first Ironman suit. But the suit had to boot up first, and when it was still loading, the man who saved me, Yinsen, grabbed a gun and ran out of the cave shooting his machine gun. Eventually, caught up to him, but he was already dying. He told me just before he died, to not waste my life. It's around this time that I get extremely claustrophobic. I was gone yesterday because I was visiting Yinsen's grave."

He finished his story and gave them all a sad smile. "Happy now?"

"No." Steve said. "I still want to know why you disregarded my orders to fire the missile?" he didn't ask in a sharp or reprimanding tone, only sad and curious. Tony's smile grew sadder. "I was thinking of my friend and how I never got to thank him. And how I'll regret it for the rest of my life."

oOo

**oh holy hell. My back hurts. I would like to thank Green Day and Boulevard of Broken dreams. I love that song. I have been lying on my bed and looking at my ceiling and I noticed a shape on it that looks like a centaur with six legs and a really long tail. I'm almost done with **Scars of the Past!** I'm so happy that I got such good responses to my first story. Anyway, R and R! **


	5. Epilogue

**Ok, so I keep getting reviews about how you guys want another chapter, so I decided to do a kind of epilogue. Here it is- You're welcome.**

**I own nothing.**

000

Over the next few months, as Tony healed, everyone was subdued and quiet. They visited Tony every day, but he rarely talked to them. Once his broken bones were healed, he moved back into the tower. He didn't talk, not even to Bruce, his science bro. he didn't pull pranks or call people by their stupid nicknames that they all pretended to hate. He just worked on his suit and modified his cars. Then came the day when they received the first real mission since the warehouse bomb. Thor went down to Tony's workshop, where he had been for a few hours. Tony was sitting on a hair with his back to Thor.

"My friend," he said. "The man of Fury calls to tell us of an emergency."

"I know. I heard the alarm go off. Tell Fury I'm not going." Tony replied. Thor had not expected a response, and he was stunned into silence for a moment.

"Why will you not fight with us friend?" Thor asked weakly.

"Because I would hate to ruin another mission for you. I know how hard it was on all of you." Tony replied. His breath hitched in the middle of his sentence. Thor walked forward and placed a hand on the edge of Tony's chair. He could see a glowing light in his hands. Spinning the chair around, Thor saw Tony holding an old looking Arc reactor that flickered weakly in his hands. "This was the first Arc I made. It's ruined now, but I can't force myself to throw it away."

"Are you angry at us, friend?" Thor asked. Tony looked up from the reactor in his hands, eyes blazing.

"Am I angry?" he repeated. "Am I _angry?_ Of course I am! I was left in Afghanistan for three months, I lost one of the only people that actually felt like a real friend to me, and then once I lock all of those horrid little memories away, you come along and rip them out again and shove them in my face! It's like picking at a scab; if you keep doing it, it will never go away. It scars.

"Well, you all exposed my scars, so what else do I have to lose?" Tony dropped the Arc on the ground and crushed it, then went to the center of the room. He activated the machines that would put his suit on. This suit was different. It was dull grey and silver. The eyes in the faceplate glowed a darker blue and the glass plate over his Arc reactor was thicker. "I'll go with you. Tell Fury I already know where to be." Then he flew up and out, leaving Thor alone in the workshop.

oOo

The fight was long and vicious, and by the time it was over, everyone was exhausted. Steve had told everyone to regroup, so the team was standing in the middle of the battlefield, sweaty and tired, waiting for the Quinjet to arrive and take them home. Tony stood a little ways off, standing with a stiff back and refusing to look at any of them. Steve watched Tony warily. They had begun to work their way to becoming friends, and then Steve had played a hand at effectively ruining it. But ever the optimist, Steve approached Tony.

"Captain Rodgers," Tony greeted him curtly. Steve winced. Tony, _no one_, had called him that since their second mission as a team.

"Tony, I really want to apologize. I should have trusted you because you're my teammate and my friend, but I didn't, and I'm sorry."

"I know you're sorry, Captain. But sorry doesn't change the past. You can't go back and undo what you did."

"What can I do to help fix it?" Steve asked, sounding slightly desperate.

"You can give it time," Tony replied acidly, then moved away and blasted up.

000

Over the past few weeks, the team saw little of Tony. When he was needed on a mission, he would go with them, but he would never stay long after the battle was over. They would do little things for him, like bring him dinner and keep the usual mess to a minimum. After another month, Tony started to come up for dinner and stay after battles, but he wouldn't talk to any of them. But the thought that their friend was slowly coming back to them was comfort enough. But it was on one battle that the team thought they had a chance of gaining his trust back.

A group of Doombots were tearing through the city, killing random citizens and destroying the city. The Doombots were well equipped; Doom was learning what weapons were most effective against the Avengers. Each Doombot had a gun mounted on their shoulder and they had sensors all around the body so they could tell where any projectiles heading to them were coming from. Oh, and they could fly. Groups of flying Doombots were up in the air harassing Tony and forcing him to the ground. To avoid being run into the ground, Tony tried to twist in a difficult maneuver and a stray bullet from one of the Bots took out his left boot. Now, his right boot was already fritzy from being grabbed by a Bot and smashed into the ground earlier in the battle, and he began to fall rapidly.

He heard a roar and saw a blur of motion of his right, and then something very solid and very _green _bulleted into him and he was wrapped into a huge pair of green arms. He was still falling, but the Hulk broke the fall. Tony felt Hulk shift and he was roughly pushed to the ground. He stumbled and tripped, falling to his knees. Tony turned from his spot on the ground to stare at the mountain of green flesh. Hulk stirred slightly, then grunted and pushed himself up. He stood up and roared at the sky where the Doombots were still hovering in the air. One of the Bots seemed to take offense at Hulk's challenge and it barreled down and slammed into Hulk's chest, knocking him back and through the building behind him.

Tony looked away from the pile of rubble that used to be a wall before the Hulk was smashed through it up to the Bots that were still floating up high. Most of the Avengers were in different parts of the city, trying to neutralize the widespread threat, so if the Doombots decided to attack him, he was on his own. Well, the Bots decided to do just that and the guns mounted on their backs were pointed at him. Even from the ground, Tony could hear the guns whirring and getting ready to fire. Tony knew that because of the beating his suit had already sustained, it would not be able to withstand the fire power from at least thirty Doombots. So he knelt on one knee and curled his arms around his head, trying to protect his vital organs. He squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to see his blood all over the ground when the bullets ripped his battered suit to pieces. Then he heard the click of multiple guns fire at once, and the drum of said bullets on a completely bullet proof substance, say, Vibranium. Tony opened his eyes to see the Captain standing over him with his shield over their heads, protecting them both from the rain of bullets.

"Thanks," Tony said, voice slightly muffled from inside the helmet.

"No problem. But I can't keep the shield up forever," he was cut off as the drumming of the bullets suddenly abated. Steve peeked around the side of his shield and saw the sky was clear of Doombots, and Hulk was gladly ripping them to shreds off to the side. Turning back to Tony, Steve held out his hand and pulled Tony up. As Tony brushed himself off, Steve said, "I've always got your back," then after a slight pause he added, "bro."

Tony snickered, and then coughed awkwardly. "Don't use that word Captain, it doesn't suit you." He gave a mock salute to the Captain and blasted upwards, spiraling away. Steve grinned as his friend (and he could use that word now) disappear over the horizon.

Steve pressed a finger to the comm in his ear and said, "Guys, I think we got our Tony back."

000

And so, Tony eventually forgave them.

Thank you for everyone who followed and favorited, and making this my most reviewed story! If you like this, please check out my other stuff. Have a great day! ;) Please review and tell me what you think!


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